updated 10:35 am EDT, Fri July 13, 2007

Sony Dropping 60GB PS3

The recently announced price cut for the 60GB PlayStation 3 in North America is just a move to clear stock before the 80GB model becomes the only offering, according to Sony Computer Entertainment's European president David Reeves. The chief claims the intent is to eliminate stock of the 60GB model in the country over the course of the next few weeks, ultimately removing the smaller-capacity version entirely from stores by August 1st.

"All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July," he said.

Reeves did not suggest that there would be any reduction in price or reshuffling of the 80GB model's bundle, which currently sells for $599 bundled with a copy of Motorstorm. The lineup has changed rapidly since the console's November launch, which started with 20GB and 60GB models but scrapped the 20GB model in April. [viaGamesIndustry]

Bad move

If this is true, that's a stupid move. The market has shown it's willing to pay the, albeit still high, $500 price. Sales jumped after the cut. An effective price hike (really, 33% more HD space is not worth much) will cause sales to drop below what they were before the price cut. Note to Sony: Those sales weren't very good.